Graffiti vs. art: Gus Cutty shares thoughts, opens show

Gus Cutty is exhausted with the art versus graffiti argument in Asheville.

"We, as a city, are 30 years behind the argument," said the accomplished artist. "I have recently turned down further opportunities to remark upon it, because I believe that the only way we will hope to proceed is to pretend that it is 2014 and not 1994 in Nashville or 1984 in New York."

Cutty, who curated a new show at Carolina Cinemas, "Reckless Abandon," featuring work by artists who began their careers in graffiti art and questions the notion that all graffiti is trash or criminal. "People here still have the concept that graffiti is something that can be stopped and not a symptom of society that has always been present as long as people have sought a voice," he said.

Reckless Abandon opens from 7-9 p.m. Friday at Carolina Cinemas, 1640 Hendersonville Road, and will be running through July. Cutty, known for his portraiture, is one of the seven artists featured in the exhibit. Each artist – Cutty, Trek 6, Ishmael, Ted Harper, Topr, Melt FTK and Big Bertha – displays two to five pieces, and represent a variety of creative paths that all started with street art. One of the major intentions behind the show is to address the argument of graffiti versus art, in a constructive manner.

"I think that arguing over it only causes negativity and that there are countless examples of cities who have already dealt with it in every imaginable way," Cutty said. "I say, look at the statistics from those cities and pick the enforcement we think is best for us as a city and let's move on.

"I believe that this current conversation has less to do with the morality of the issue and more to do with property values, outside developers and funding for subcontractors to allocate tax money to help fund private development," he added. "The local law enforcement, politicians and news sources have a crafty network setup to manipulate the local public, which I have witnessed time and time again since moving here in 1996."

Cutty has appeared in galleries and has been commissioned by several businesses to beautify spaces, such Urban Orchard Cider Co. and Bar building on Haywood Road.

Cutty noted a "huge following" of graffiti fans. He said it's because the art form is "one of the most pure arts at the core, meaning that artists largely paint for reasons devoid of commerce, it fills many with the idea that art is something other than a commodity and more of an expression, and that literally anyone can do it if they work hard enough," he said.

The artwork, in turn, reminds the viewers of their own voices.

Cutty grew up in Nashville, Tenn., "surrounded by graffiti culture. It stole my heart at a young age for its rebellious spirit and its ability to allow me to remain an art nerd while participating in an underground and largely misunderstood culture with deep roots," he said.

And as an angry, frustrated teenager, Cutty watched so many people from his youth fall victim to drugs and crime, he said, and "consider graffiti a saving grace for myself and so many around me."

Aerosol art continues to create positive momentum in his career as a designer and muralist – and positive exchanges with the public on the streets of Asheville.

"I paint with spray paint in public several times a year, and never hear negative comments," he said. Cutty said he doesn't believe that graffiti can be completely understood, but he does aim for the community to recognize that the city's "unique group of talent in this subculture, and that it is one of the things that separates this city from the more white-washed locations of surrounding cities, which developers seem to want to emulate."

And the consequences of ignoring the need to have constructive dialogue about graffiti go way beyond a sidewalk or a gallery show.

"This city is one rich with culture and is one of the main reasons people are drawn here," Cutty said. "If we continue to push out artists and musicians with enforcement and rising property costs, then we will lose the reason people moved here to begin with -- and I believe there will eventually be a collapse."